Summon

Summary: If there’s one thing Ress has learnt about self hatred, it’s that after you accidentally condemn yourself to a life of immortality, it never really goes away...

Chapter 1

If there’s one thing Ress has learnt about self
hatred, it’s that after you accidentally condemn yourself to a life of
immortality, it never really goes away.

Slouched at the grandly lacquered wooden table,
arrogant features bathed in the muted glow of candlelight, she flips her glossy
hair behind her shoulders and scowls beatifically.

“Why do I
have to monitor the brat?” She complains loudly, more than aware of why, specifically,
she was the only one in this miserable collection of people Kallum had the
nerve to call a ‘committee’ who could be trusted to complete the task. Celose,
cattishly reclining and pretending to not care about the situation, and Mikal,
furious as always, had been fighting over the fire deity for years. If either
of them were assigned to watch the child, they would manipulate her into taking
her own life purely out of spite.

“You know why.” Kallum says tiredly, downing his
glass of port with ease. Ress follows the heave of his throat with a critical
eye; they’re ageless, not indestructible, and his liver needs to last him a
very long time.

“I don’t.” Sulks Celose, picking violently at her
nails. Bright green eyes peer narrowly from within the black lace mask she
wears, studded with whorls of crystals. “Being an Instinctual won’t stop her
from frying, we can write the report from here.”

Permanently hollow cheeks contort into a poison
smile, dark chin length hair swishes as she jerks her head in Ress’ direction.
Opals glimmer on her fingers. “No offence.”

None is taken. Ress knows exactly what she is. As
an Instinctual she was able to harness the deity of the air completely by
chance and raw potential, over three hundred years ago. The words had simply
leaped fully formed from her mouth. Compared to the years, and in Mikal’s case,
decades worth of learning most needed before even a simple spirit could be
harnessed- it makes Ress a cheat, scum, worthless. It also made her unmatchably
powerful, until now.

“If we ever want to bring order to our people, Instinctuals
must be wiped out.” Snarls Mikal, tugging irritably at his white collar. Ress
meets his glowering countenance with her infamous chill; his despising of her
very existence ceased to bother her years ago. Mikal has skin of molten bronze
and eyes like shallow chips of obsidian. Ress remembers how once she had
thought him beautiful, until his blindly hating glare had transformed him into
something absurd. He is older than Ress, centuries so, and weaker. He doesn’t
let himself forget it.

“They undermine years of hardwork and dedication,
and they disrupt the hierarchy. Just look at this little upstart, stealing my
fire.”

“Your fire?” Celose purrs, unwinding slightly to
sneer softly across the table. Her body is a work of art, all muscle and
graceful lines, and completely honed by her own determination. She too dislikes
Ress, but her love of riling Mikal often eclipses that. “My dear Mikal, if the
girl has the ability to hold it for even a moment she has exceeded our
capabilities, why not let her have it?”

“Why you little-“

“She’ll be dead soon enough, Mikal, Celose, end
this bickering.” Kallum stares them down sternly with steely grey eyes. Similar
to Ress in hair and eye colour, they were often mistaken as being related.

“She’s not the only Instinctual though, is she.”
Mikal grinds out, eyes bulging in his pursed face. He looks hilariously akin to
a bullfrog.

Ress smiles sweetly at him, sweeping her dark brown
hair forwards to expose the scarred notches lining her neck. Oh people had tried to kill her, they had flocked in
their droves, but none had ever succeeded, however close they came. Ress bats
her eyelashes. “You have my express permission to try and kill me whenever you
feel the urge.”

Mikal blanches. Celose looks down. Even Kallum
shifts in his seat. They all know that an attempt on Ress’ life would
effectively be a death sentence; her words are both a threat and an offer.

“Ress Duvant, will you watch the newly born
Instinctual until they expire?” Kallum requests after a surly pause has passed.
Ress is perfectly aware that it’s less of a question and more of a formality.
While she could kill Kallum, the battle would be long and brutal. And as
pointless as the committee is, she has to get her kicks of vague normality
somewhere. Mortals infuriate her and most other Summoners want her dead. At
least with Kallum she can have conversations that don’t end in murder.

“Alright.” Ress agrees sourly. “But if she’s still
alive by next week I’m giving her over to the Binders.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Hisses Celose, bladed fingers
scraping out from her handsomely embroidered sleeves. “That puts us all in
danger.”

“Not all of us.” Ress pulls her jacket on, done
with the meeting. “They’ll never catch me.”

“You should kill her yourself.” Bites out Mikal
with a stony glare. At the head of the table, Kallum mumbles something
disapproving and surrenders to another glass of port. Then a second. A third.
“I hear she’s an abhorrent, a homosexual. They say she summoned the fire to
save her female lover from the flames, it’s God’s will that she should burn.”
He finishes maliciously, frothing at the mouth.

Celose titters with laughter. “Oh Mikal.” She
says, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. “Your archaic beliefs are so endearing.”

“For once I agree with Celose. If the most
interesting thing about this brat is her sexuality then I’m in for a dull
time.” Ress says bluntly, rising and giving the room a sharp nod. “Celose.
Mikal. Knock off the port Kallum, it’s ruining your complexion.”

Without waiting to be dismissed, Ress tosses her
hair out and stalks away.

Write a Review
Did you enjoy my story? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Thanks,
Thegunsayshi

Nymeria:
Really can't get enough of this story. It flows well, it captivates the reader from page 1, and throws you into such a well-written, well conceptualized world that you'll believe it's real. Everything in the book is meshed together really well. From character backgrounds to plot twists, you can t...

PurpleInkling:
Hippocrite is spelt hypocrite.Also it is an awesome story! A good one after so long. I was hoping someone would write a good fanficiton playing off what Ron said at the station. You are doing a remarkable job. It would have been interesting if Albus had also ended up in Ravenclaw though that mig...

Charlie_8472:
Recommended to me by a friend, I thought I'd give this a read. As a hobbyist blacksmith, the blurb certainly caught my attention. I found the sentence about them drinking, dancing and fighting a strange combination of activities, perhaps a reflection of the writer’s personality and humour. Howeve...

Barbara Ponder:
This book is aimed at teenagers, however the style and content caught my attention and it is a long time since I was a teenager. Intriguing and enlightening novel I hope there will be a sequel soon.

mrh:
I love this story soooo much! This is such an incredible twist on Harry Potter's story. I have loved every word of it. I hope you will write more soon! I want to know what happens next sooo bad! Please write more!

Ben Gauger:
Kudos go to the author of ''Equinox: Into the Clouds'' for originality in character development as well as scene execution and in addition plot development, A truly original story if I do say so myself, though the spelling in and of itself could use a little work, but other than that a truly orig...

ga1984:
I really enjoyed it! Characters were deep and plot was pretty complex. A bit on the violent side but it doesnt detract from the story. Very dark but situations make sense. Ends kinda abruptly and later chapters will need some editing work. I'm assuming there's more in the works?

Morgan-Leigh Nortje:
A storyline and plot not unlike something George R R Martin would have produced, only with far less tragedy. The stunning story of a young princess who goes into hiding and takes on an epic journey to save her father and her kingdom. With characters that you feel compelled to love and a plot that...

Schaelz:
I was intrigued from the second I started reading, and it kept my interest the whole way through. Chelsea has a way with words that will enchant you until the very end. She is very poetic with the way she mixes genres and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The main character is also very relat...

Kayla Wentz:
This book had me hooked from the beginning! I kept coming back for more. It only took me a day to read! I couldn't put it down! Absolutely A-Mazing! This book keep the story going and there's never a dull moment!

Julia Summers PA:
It's Prodigious, Shocking, Stunning, Unbelievably fascinating and enduring yet evil has a presence about it! Epic writing style! - Nook Books and More BlogRed that pulls you in. The characters have a way of pulling you in. They are all unique in a way that gives it a different appeal then the ave...

europeanlove:
I gotta hand it to you. I love reading. I read books everyday. When the book is good I can read it in probably 13 hours. Your story was amazing. Great prose, very imaginative. Incredible dialogue. I am deeply impressed. Keep it up.